


At the End of the Day its All News

by harveydent



Category: Gotham (TV)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-09
Updated: 2018-06-09
Packaged: 2019-05-20 02:18:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,848
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14885757
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harveydent/pseuds/harveydent
Summary: Canon compliant story focusing on a college student working at a news stand, trying to keep his nose clean. This proves difficult as hes approached by one of Gotham's most infamous rogues for information.





	At the End of the Day its All News

Johnny Winters was a Gothamite, born and bred. His family had been in the food business,  but he'd chosen to work away from the restaurant (and by proxy, their mob ties). He'd gotten a scholarship to Gotham University and was trying to live an honest life. It wasn't like he had time to do anything else besides school and his part-time job at a newspaper stand on the corner of Randolph and Kent. 

 

It was a modest setup, consisting of a small shack with a wide window to talk to customers. The city's top newspapers lined up perfectly just below the opening. Their headlines were by design the first thing customers noticed about the station. Minor snacks and tourist trinkets hung off the side, but they didn't sell as well. The stand was located in the Financial District, on one of the busiest intersections of Gotham. Johnny had his work cut out for him on week days, but he needed the pay. And enough relatives had been put away by the cops to have disillusioned Johnny to the realities of crime.

 

Not that he was unaffected. Since he was stationed at one of the best locations, thugs always thought that they could get away with trying to hustle him. But growing up in a crime family meant he knew how to hold his own in a fight and always managed to defend his register. After a particularly nasty fight, his boss threw him a small raise for his efforts. 

 

One afternoon after the lunch rush, a strange man approached the stand. Johnny was bent over, trying to memorize facts out of the textbook he'd hidden. The man was tall, and dressed in a fine pinstripe suit. Even though it was overcast, he wore dark sunglasses that hid his eyes. He leant over the partition to see what Johnny was looking at. The college student slowly closed the book and looked up at the stranger. "Can I help you?"

 

"What are you studying?" The man rocked on his heels, his hands behind his back.

 

Johnny looked him up and down. Didn't seem like hired muscle. This guy was too skinny. But years on the street had  trained him not to judge a book by its cover. "I have an exam coming up."

 

"A student, I see. Seeking higher education." The man nodded and pretended to look at the selection of papers. It was almost convincing, if his eyes weren't peeking over the shades to look at Johnny. "Good on you."

 

The sidewalk was fairly empty, most people in the area still at their nine to fives. The only other person on their corner was a woman chattering on her phone, leaning against a pole waiting for the next bus. It was just the two men staring at each other. 

 

"Hmm." Johnny hummed, not flattered.  "So can I help you with something?"

 

The man clapped his hands together and then pulled out a business card. He seemed to smooth out nonexistent wrinkles before handing it to the younger man. Johnny carefully grabbed it and looked down. It was a white card with a phone number printed in dark  green ink. He turned it over and the back only held a question mark.

 

"What the fuck is this?" Johnny deadpanned. 

 

The tall man frowned and muttered something about language before straightening his tie. "I'm searching for people on the street who will keep an eye out for me."

 

"I'm not looking for any trouble."

 

"Oh no, of course not! You won't be _directly involved_ in anything illegal, I assure you. I'm just looking for intelligence. Something only someone like you can provide." He gestured down at the newspapers between them, and then at the people walking past them. "Just someone to keep an ear out for certain topics."

 

"Like what?"

 

"I'm sure it'll change every once in a while, but I'll keep you up to date. Just people, places, things. I'll throw you a noun and you're going to let me know if theres talk about it. Seem simple enough?" Seeing that Johnny was still on the fence, the man sighed and pulled out a wad of bills. "I haven't said how much I'm willing to pay, have I?"

 

Johnny's eyes widened at the money. That was easily a couple grand. This man was no joke. "You said I'd be squeaky clean, right? Mister....?"

 

The man flashed a wide, winning grin. "As clean as can be! And you can just call me Mister E. for now."

 

The young man's eyebrow shot up. So he had a gimmick. Like a lot of the rogues appearing in the news lately. As long as he was kept out of it and got his money, Johnny was going to be just fine with this arrangement. He stuck out his hand and the man eagerly shook it.

 

"We have a deal."

 

* * *

 

Johnny leaned forward and bit into his hot dog, careful not to make a mess. His boss would flip out if he heard he was selling soiled newspapers. The streets were packed and Johnny didn't trust the throngs of people not to try and swipe something if he tried to study. So he was stuck watching the motorcade drive by. 

 

The new mayor and chief of staff were waving at the crowd.  This was all old news to Johnny, who'd had to stare at their faces all day in the papers. Something about a fancy event being interrupted and an attempt on the mayor's life. The celebration was to show he was alive, or something along those lines.

 

The Red Hood Gang had been involved. That was the part that had really interested Johnny. It was one of the names he'd been keeping track of for a couple weeks. The day after he'd called Mister E. with the info had been the day they were caught. It couldn't have been a coincidence. When the tall man stopped by the stand to drop off his payment he'd simply winked and sauntered off. 

 

Now Johnny Winters wasn't an idiot. He was the first person in his family to go to college, and he was already doing really well in his classes. He'd been the top of his class in High School, despite all the teasing he'd gotten for it. It was all worth it to show his family they didn't need to choose such hard career paths. At least he was keeping his nose clean. Mostly.

 

 

It took a few months to figure it out but Johnny was already certain that his mysterious boss was actually the Chief of Staff. The name Edward Nygma flashed at him from the papers below. The figures on the car were too far away to see clearly, but the pictures in the papers didn't lie. Same lithe frame, same piercing eyes. And this Red Hood Gang business confirmed it. 

 

As if reading his mind, the taller figure on the car waved at Johnny directly. Johnny waved back hesitantly, forgetting his hot dog for a split second but it was too late. Ketchup had fallen onto one of the papers, making it look like the mayor had been shot in the chest.

 

"Ah shit."

 

* * *

Mister E. went dark for a few weeks. Johnny's info got stale and he stopped trying to call the number he'd been given. The business card was stuck in one of the slots in his wallet, the edges bent and the text faded. 

 

Johnny didn't have much time to worry, though. The mayor had gone missing, and then a few days later Gotham was thrown into a blackout. It was absolute chaos. Johnny had raced home and helped his family defend the restaurant from looters and people just looking for a fight. That had been the longest night of his life. The next day the GCPD managed to get things under control. 

 

Word on the street is that they arrested some maniac with his face cut off. This made Johnny realize he hadn't been paying enough attention since Mister E. disappeared. How had he missed a faceless clown?

 

Gotham University was trashed completely and the school gave the students a week off while they tried to fix everything back up. This suited Johnny just fine, because he needed to help repair the newsstand. He loaned his boss some money to help fix it up. When the older man looked suspicious, Johnny mentioned that his family ran a popular restaurant on the north side. This earned a double take and then a nod. Better than telling the truth.

 

After closing up shop, Johnny hopped on the train to go home. He couldn't shake the feeling that he was being watched.

 

* * *

Right when Johnny was getting used to life without Mister E. he came back into his life full force. He seemed unstable and was constantly muttering things under his breath. His usual dark suits had been exchanged for a bright green number, complete with a bowler hat jaunted to one side. It was certainly different than what he'd been wearing as Chief of Staff.

 

Johnny knew enough junkies to see the man was taking some form of Speed. His hands shook and he looked like he hadn't slept the entire time he'd been gone.

 

Where before Johnny was given a small list of topics to watch out for, today only held two items. The upcoming chess tournament and the Penguin. Underneath the second item, there was a small list of aliases for the man. 

 

"If you have to choose between the two, always grab info on Penguin. He is priority  number one." Nygma held up one finger in Johnny's face. It was quivering slightly, as if the man could be blown away at the slightest breeze. 

 

Johnny looked around them and saw no one within ear shot. Their history gave him courage to speak, assuming he would be safe. "You know, word on the street is you bumped him off."

 

He'd assumed incorrectly.  In less than a second a gun had replaced the finger. "Care to extrapolate?"

 

"I just mean," Johnny refused to cower. He stared straight into those bloodshot eyes. "The grocer over on Anderson was fishing the other week and swears he saw _what appeared to be_ the chief of staff blasting the mayor. Not many people know, he never really talks much. I'm just letting you know its out there."

 

Nygma slowly lowered the gun, obviously lost in thought. "How long have you known my real name?"

 

"Since the Red Hood incident." Johnny fixed his jacket, pretending like he wasn't scared shitless. He looked up and saw the tall man smirk.

 

"I knew I chose a smart kid." Nygma grabbed a small book of crossword puzzles off the shelf. "Oh and here."

 

He passed Johnny a new  business card. This time it was all black with its letters in bright green. It held a new number and _'The Riddler'_ was written across the top. The back side held the same question mark as before. 

 

"New gimmick?" Johnny smiled.

 

The taller man smiled back. "New and improved."

**Author's Note:**

> Phew! That was stuck in my head for a while, just had to get that out there. I have an idea for a second chapter following s4. Maybe? Anyways, thanks for reading!


End file.
